In a recent landmark court case, a 14-year-old won her case and her choice to be cryogenically frozen after her battle with cancer. The court ordered that she may be frozen after her passing, and she is now the first British child to have been cryogenically frozen.

What is Cryonics?

Cryonics is the way a body is frozen after someone has died. It is frozen in the hope that, when there is a cure in the future for what they died of, they can be revived and cured. It is done through replacing the blood in the body with a substance that prevents the body’s organs and cells from freezing and developing ice within them. The body is then held at a temperature lower than -120 degrees to ensure preservation without freezing.

America is one of only two countries with the facility to store cryogenically frozen bodies. Therefore when someone is cryogenically frozen in the UK, they must be repatriated to either the US or Russia, to be preserved.

Rowland Brothers International are leading global repatriation specialists in the UK, we also have many years’ experience in managing cryonic cases. RBI were already working closely with the family of JS to support the cryonics process and advise about best practices. Due to our prior support and experience, the judge of this case, Mr Justice Peter Jackson, directed that Rowland Brothers International be there to assist with the moving of JS and the subsequent repatriation to the US for her cryonic preservation.

We repatriated her to Michigan, safely and quickly at a very low temperature, where she is to be preserved and possibly someday be revived and brought back to live as she wished.

This case has brought cryonics to the forefront of the Human Tissue Act, which doesn’t include the freezing of entire bodies. Cryonics UK, who carried out the embalming and freezing of JS, have all received training in cryonic procedure. The judge raised the question, that if this is going to become a more frequent request as time goes on, should we change regulations to reflect it.

Rowland Brothers International are specialists in this field and are equipped to deal with the repatriation of all cryonic clients. If you have any questions or are interested in this service, get in touch to discuss it with us, here.